Gems Don't Bleed
by C0N2UM3D
Summary: Steven comes along on a mission and causes Pearl to get hurt. He blames himself too much, and the gems are worried they might be unable to save him. Warning for self harm, suicidal ideation, feels. Rupphire feels especially ;)
1. Chapter 1

Like any other day in the temple on the beach, Steven cheerfully woke, excited for the day's activities. For once Pearl was sitting on the couch this morning, so the boy talked with her while making himself breakfast.  
"There's an urgent mission we'll be going on this morning. We're waiting for Amethyst, we were supposed to leave two minutes ago!" She says exasperatedly. Steven smiles. At that exact moment Amethyst walks in the door.  
"Yo." She greets, walking towards the fridge.  
"Where have you been? Have you forgotten today's assignment? Garnet will arrive any minute and you've been out all morning!" Pearl snaps, receiving a shrug from the purple gem, head removing itself from the fridge, sandwich in mouth.  
"Chill, P. I'm here on time," she says around the food. Pearl huffs and is about to go off to find Garnet when the warp activates.  
"Gems." Says the newly arrived Garnet. "Come on. We're running late." Pearl and Amethyst quickly join her, and Garnet motions for Steven to come too.  
"Woo hoo!" Steven shouts, running over. Pearl shoots a look of concern to the tallest gem who puts a hand on her shoulder.  
"It's important that Steven comes on this mission. Trust me, Pearl."  
The warp activates again, sending the four of them to a jungle full of oddly colored leaves. The sun is blotted out above them, but for some reason it's perfectly light under the canopy. Steven runs around the warp, eyes starry, mouth agape. "Woahhh!"  
"This way," says Garnet, walking into the dense foliage. They follow, Steven a few feet behind them. The trees open into a large clearing, the grassy floor transitioning to a slightly higher stone one. Garnet stops before crossing the border, and turns to Steven.  
"I need the thing in your left pocket." She says, bending down and holding out her gloved hand. Steven rummages in his pocket and pulls out a crumpled receipt from The Big Donut. Garnet picks up the paper and closes her fist. "Steven. This is the temple of memory. Every year we must sacrifice a memory to it in order for this sanctuary to stay afloat. Would you be okay sharing the memory of this with the island?"  
Stevens eyes light up and he nods enthusiastically. Garnet nods back and stands. She and Pearl walk onto the platform and Steven runs to follow, but trips.  
"Hey there little man!" Amethyst says, catching Steven before he falls. "We can't go on there."  
"Why not?" Steven whines. Amethyst smiles, then ruffles his hair playfully.  
"The big bad memory monster will eat you!" She says in a mysterious, loud voice, tickling him. Steven laughs.  
Suddenly, a loud rumbling came from within the island, smoke rising from a hole in the center of the platform. Pearl came walking back towards them through it. "Pearl!" Steven yells. She looks over at him, but then gets swallowed by the cloud. A shout comes from it and suddenly Garnet bursts forth, landing beside them.  
"Stand back. We were a bit late." The smoke continues to rise but doesn't touch them. In a few minutes it clears and the platform is back to its tranquil state. "Not too late, however."  
"Hey Garnet, where's Pearl?" Steven says, looking up worriedly. The gem opens her hand, with now holds a small oval Pearl. Steven gasps "What happened?"  
"She... Got distracted. Only I can breathe that smoke. Pearl was reckless coming out there with me, and she knew it." Garnet sighs. "Let's get back to the warp."  
Steven lags behind the others again as they walk back, but for a different reason. He frowned, his eyes watering slightly, recalling what Garnet had said. Pearl had gotten distracted by him. He knew it was his fault, and it stung.  
'Why are you so useless?' He thought to himself. 'No wonder they don't like you. It's not just because you killed Rose.'

Steven lay awake that night, unable to sleep. Thoughts race through his mind, some of which he cringe at, others he takes with grim silence.  
Suddenly he recalls a conversation he'd overheard at The Big Donut the other day, the one that went along with that receipt.  
He'd been getting a snack, sitting at one of the tables to eat to pass the time. The gems had been out like usual, so he had nothing else to do. Sadie had been at the register since he'd gotten there, and she looked annoyed. She went into the back and a moment later Steven heard arguing. That was common between Lars and Sadie, the only two workers there, and he idly listened in.  
"...I can't believe you, Lars! You keep doing this to yourself! Have you ever thought about what might happen to you if you mess up? What would happen to me?"  
"Don't make this about you! This isn't your problem, just leave me alone!"  
"Isn't my problem? Lars, I'll make it my problem if you don't do something. Have you tried talking to someone? It's normal to feel this way, to-"  
"To cut myself?! It's normal? Is it also normal to hate myself so much? Huh?! If I told anyone about this they'd put me in a mental hospital, Sadie!"  
"No, Lars, calm down. No one would do that. I just want to help, I..."  
"I might even belong in one, too..."  
"Lars!" Sadie shouted as the male burst from the back room. He didn't even look at Steven, pulling his sleeves down and pushing through the front door. Sadie had come out a moment later, wiping her eyes.

Steven wondered. What was cutting? Did it actually involve hurting yourself? On your arms? He shivers thinking about it. Steven had never loved sharp things like that. What did you even use to do it? Your nails?  
He finds himself suddenly digging his nails into his skin. It doesn't really hurt he notices, but it doesn't break the skin either. 'You want to do it.' He thinks. 'You deserve it. You deserve the pain.'  
Steven gets out of bed and climbs quietly down the stairs into the kitchen where all the knives are. Pulling one out he bites his lip. He can't do it with something like that. He quietly puts the knife back and returns to his bedroom.  
What is sharp? He looks around his cluttered room for answers. Not his toys, or his books or games... Suddenly something gleaming on his nightstand catches his eye. It's a pencil sharpener, and he notices for the first time the small razor blade held within it. 


	2. Chapter 2

One week later

"Steven," Garnet walks up the stairs into his loft room, ducking her head. "Would you like to come on a mission with me?"

Steven smiles the smile he practiced, the one that almost looked real. He knows that Garnet doesn't buy it, but at least he tries. "Sure! Let's go!" He forces himself to run down the stairs and to the warp pad, forcing his shoulders back in order to keep from looking so sad. Garnet follows in her slow way, her face a mask betraying no emotion. Once she's on the pad they faze away, landing within the entrance of a dark, large cave.

"Woah!" Steven exclaims with no feeling. He bites his lip and glances over at Garnet, who doesn't even look like she heard him. They step into the cavern, walking in silence to a large chamber full of stalactites that span hundreds of feet into darkness and almost touch the floor. They maneuver around the giant spikes into the center of the room where a clear gem sits embedded in a man-made (or rather, gem-made) stone stand.

"What is that?" Steven asks in a whisper. The silence and eeriness of the cave made him feel small and therefore he lowered his voice. Garnet holds a finger to her lips, then motions for him to stay put. She takes a step forward, then another, then-

A spike shoots up through the ground where she had just stood. "Steven! Get back!" She shouts, leaping up onto the spike to escape another. Steven runs back towards the entrance, a bit slower than he normally would, the nagging thought in the back of his head saying 'what if there was an accident? what if it could be over?' A spike shoots up before him and despite himself he yelps, racing in the opposite direction.

"Steven!" Garnet jumps from spike to spike and grabs him. He holds onto her arms as she soars. She lands and takes off running, spikes shooting up after each step. She reaches the wall and turns. "We have to get back to the center where the shard is." She says, but then shouts as a spike launches from the wall and nearly pierces her foot.

She easily makes her way to the center, making Steven wonder if the past two minutes had been merely to make the mission seem dangerous. She gently sets Steven down and moves to smash the gem. As her fist moves to smash the gem a spike shoots up beside him and catches his sleeve. Without thinking he simply pulls away, ripping the fabric. Exposing the cuts on his arm.

Garnet freezes, her hand just above the stone. Her glasses block her eyes but Steven can feel them locked on his arm, then with his own. He quickly snaps out of it and yanks his arm out of sight, shutting his eyes. He thinks he hears Garnet say something, but it doesn't matter. 'I want to die I want to die I want to die' chants in his head. Steven turns, pauses, then runs as fast as he can away. Garnet shouts but he keeps running. The next thing he knows he's alone under a grey sky, looking out at a rough sea, on top of a high, rocky cliff. He falls to his knees and stares at his hands, unable to cry, unable to think. He just sits. 'I want to die. I want to die...'

Garnet freezes. The mission had been planned for him, so she could see what was wrong, so she could help with his confidence. The gems hadn't known what was wrong with Steven. They just assumed the last mission had made him feel weak. They weren't that far off, but Garnet had never thought-had never seen this. Whatever this was, these cuts on his arms.

So many of them. There were scars and scabs and fresh ones with little specs of dried blood where it had beaded from recent slices. She stared at his arm, trying to make the injuries disappear, but they wouldn't. Then she shifted to his eyes. They were wide, scared, empty. Brown holes in his head that used to lead straight to his heart, but now there was nothing there. He closes in on himself, hugging himself. Garnet still can't move.

But then Steven runs, and time picks up where it left off. "STEVEN!" Garnet says, but says too quietly, still shocked. She moves her shoulders, her eyes, but then realizes too late what she was in the middle of doing. Before she can finish the job a spike launches straight up at her face. She can't dodge it, but raises her right hand to block the blow, not thinking.

With a grunt of pain Garnet splits into her two smaller forms, one landing on her hands and knees and the other launched far into the domed wall.

"Ruby!" Sapphire screams, shaking in shock from her sudden separation. The red gem strikes the wall with a crack, then falls beyond her sight. "RUBY!" She screams again, receiving no reply. She gets to her feet and dashes towards her lover, bumping into spikes in her unsteady state. When she finally finds her, lying on her side, her back to her, the blood stains from Sapphires face.

Falling to her knees she gently places her hands on Ruby's shoulder. The shorter gem gasps, seeming to wake up, and then curls into a ball. "Ruby, Ruby what happened? Are you hurt? Let me see your gem." The blue girl sobs. Ruby moves a bit, unclenching her fist and looking at her hand before quickly closing it again and rolling onto her knees.

"I'm fine." She grunts, eyes shut tight and teeth gritted. "Jus' let my guard down 's all..." Her face seems to relax for a moment, but then her form glitches and she shouts.

"Shit, Ruby, let me see your gem, let me see how bad it is." Sapphire pleads, tears streaming down her face, hands slightly shaking her lover. Ruby, hugging herself, slowly sits up. She opens her eyes slowly. Her shoulders start to shake with silent sobs.

"It... It's f-fine, Sapphy, I..." She lowers her head as tears drip down her chin. Sapphire puts her hands over Ruby's and gently pulls hers away, realizing all the red girls strength has gone. Her heart drops, her hands tremble, her tears fall fast. There in her loves right hand sits an absolutely smashed Ruby.

"What are we going to d-do..." Ruby mumbles, then laughs. "Th's 's great! Love it!" She grimaces and falls into Sapphires lap, her fists knotting into the dress, her left foot already fazing away. Sapphire can't think. She keeps repeating "It'll be okay. We're going to go find Steven and we'll talk with him and he can heal you and things will be better." But the truth is she doesn't think she can make it make to the warp with Ruby like this, and a heart stopping vision reveals that they may never see Steven alive again...


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks for all the reviews! :)

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"P-Pearl! Amethyst! Someone help us!" The weak blue gem shouts. She'd finally managed to drag herself and Ruby back to the warp pad, but her partners condition had only worsened. At this point her whole lower torso had glitched, and her speech was incoherent.

Luckily someone had heard them arrive and walked out to greet them. It was Pearl, looking a bit panicked. "What took you two so long? I was getting worried, I-" She looks down, seeing the two small gems sitting in ruins on the warp pad, her face going even paler. "What happened? Where's Steven?!"

"I-I..." Sapphire holds back a sob and Ruby manages to lightly squeeze her hand. "Steven is in danger. I-we-Garnet got distracted and now Ruby is hurt and I c-can't see Steven. We need to go get him but I don't know where he is, and..." She brakes down crying, and Pearl awkwardly kneels down and puts a hand on her shoulder. Ruby tries to speak but can't form any words, then gets angry with herself. The gem tries to clench her fists but can't, and grits her teeth with rage.

"Ruby, stop that, you'll crack your gem further..." Pearl says quietly, and Sapphire nods her head. Ruby listens for once and lays still.

"Can you tell me what exactly happened?" Pearl calmly asks. Sapphire takes a minute to calm down, then nods.

"We were in the cave I saw earlier in my vision, going to retrieve a missing shard. I knew the mission wouldn't be very dangerous and that's why I... we went alone with Steven. We'd been worried about him, and the things I'd been seeing this past week have been... bad. So we also wanted to make sure he was okay. We never thought he..."

At this point Ruby tears up, and Sapphire gently strokes her hair. "Steven has been struggling lately. He's been fighting a hard battle with himself and he's been losing. He... He's hurt himself badly, and when we saw this he ran away. Before we could chase after him we were hit and Ruby was hurt... He's still there somewhere, and I'm afraid we... We won't..."

"We won't what?" Pearl asks, her voice strained.

"I don't know for sure we'll find him alive..."


	4. Chapter 4

"Steven!" Amethyst shouts, her voice loud and echoey. They'd been searching for hours to no avail and Ruby's situation was getting desperate. If they didn't find Steven soon she might be gone forever, and Pearl hadn't told her much but from the sound of it Steven might also be.

She'd never seen Pearl this upset. She'd never seen Sapphire so emotional. It was really scary and Amethyst was worried sick. Far too worried to make jokes, and her voice sounded scared.

"St-Steven! Steven are you there!" She calls again. "We're not mad at you! Please come out!"

"Steven! Steven, we love you!" She could hear Pearl screaming in the distance, her voice almost dead. Amethyst looked under every rock on the ledge she could find, but Steven was no where to be seen.

"Pearl, I'm going to check the lower beach!" She calls. No one answers so she climbs down the cliff. The sea is out a few yards from the rocks at the moment, giving her plenty of places to search, but when they'd arrived it had been high tide.

"Steven! Ste-" she ducks under an outcropping but nothing's there. "Steven!" She paces up the beach, watching the waves when suddenly she catches sight of something red. Running towards it she sees it's a piece of Steven's shirt, and her heart drops low inside her. They hadn't said what had happened to Steven. When she turned the cloth around there were dots of blood on it.

"STEVEN!" Amethyst shouts, her voice cracking. Her eyes start tearing up but she won't let them overflow as she continues forward, calling his name louder and louder. A noise catches her attention and she spins around.

Standing there, one sleeve ripped off, is Steven. His eyes look dark and hurt, but not like he's been crying, which would be normal for him. He looks slightly angry, but mostly terribly sad. As if someone had killed something inside of him. Her chest becomes tight.

"Hey, buddy. You had us all worried about you-" she begins.

"You shouldn't have worried. Things are going to be okay now. You won't have to deal with me anymore. I..." His eyes begin to tear up, and he wipes viciously at them. "I'm going to leave so you guys can be happy."

"Steven, what are you talking about?" Amethyst asks, her voice scared. She suddenly notices how he's holding his his one arm protectively against his chest. Her bites her lip. "What's wrong with your arm?"

"N-nothing." He shouts, looks around anxiously. "Just, leave me alone!" He takes a step back.

"No. Steven, we care about you. Come here so I can-" but Steven starts running then and Amethyst is cut off. She races after him and rather roughly grabs his arm.

"Aaagh!" He cries, wrenching it back even rougher. Amethyst looks at her hand and stops dead.

Pearl drops in front of him suddenly, blocking his way, and he stops, slowly backing between the two gems. Amethyst stares at her hand, and Pearl says something. She says it louder, and Amethyst looks up.

"What is it?" Pearl asks with an incredibly steady voice, tears running down her cheeks. Amethyst is silent and Steven looks as pale as a sheet. The purple gems hand is covered completely in dark crimson blood. It drips onto the wet sand below quietly and treks down her arm. She finally looks away, shocked, at Steven. He's shaking, standing between the two of them, his eyes full of fear.

"Steven, what is..." Pearl begins, and Steven falls to his knees. Amethyst lunges forward and catches him, holding him by his solders. The boy is now completely out, and she quickly raises his arms, ripping his other sleeve off him. She gasps, and Pearl cries out, falling to her knees a few feet away.

Amethyst uses the sleeves to bandage the deep wounds in his wrists and lifts the boy up, beginning to climb the cliffs side. Pearl shakily follows but falls and sits on the beach, sobbing. Amethyst makes it to the top and runs to the warp, arriving at the house in seconds.

"Sapphire!" She screams, laying Steven down on the couch and rushing to the kitchen. "Where the fuck are those bandages! Sapphire!" She yells again. The blue gem makes her way into the room, looking completely exhausted. Once she sees Steven she puts a hand to her mouth, quickly shakes her head, and then dashed over to assist Amethyst. They find the bandages and get to work on him, binding every cut they can find. There are two that are bleeding horribly that soak through the bandages immediately, and both cuss loudly. Ruby shouts something from the other room.

Once they've bound him up they take him up to his bed, lying him down gently but still in a panic. "What are we going to do?!" Amethyst shouts. Sapphire holds her head in her hands, but no tears fall. She's cried herself out for a very long time.

"There's a slim chance he won't die." She says.

"SLIM?!" Amethyst screams. Pearl warps in, barely standing, and quickly collapses onto the couch. "So you're saying Steven won't make it?"

"No, I'm saying he doesn't want to live." Sapphire states. "If Steven wants to die then there isn't much we can do to stop it from happening eventually." A loud sob comes from Pearl. "However, if he wakes up and we're all here for him, there's a chance he'll improve. He needs help."

Amethyst balls her fists and shuts her eyes for a moment, then breathes out heavily.

"So he can be okay? I'm not going to lose him?" Tears fall fast from her eyes and Sapphire hugs her suddenly.

"Ye-yeah. Steven can get better. He has to remember how much we all love him, and then he can get better." She says. Amethyst calms down, then weakly smiles and joins Pearl to comfort her. After a moment Sapphire returns to Ruby, still anxious, but more at ease now that Steven has been found. He'll wake up tomorrow, and then we can all celebrate him. Together.

"You too, Ruby..." She whispers to her lover, kissing her forehead. "Steven has a big heart. He loves all of us. We just need to help him love himself."

Then things will be alright.


	5. Chapter 5

It's been three days since the incident. Greg has stayed by Stevens side the whole time, sitting in grief and silence. The house has been dead quiet save for the occasional cry of pain from Ruby. Things are looking grim for the red gem, and none of them can leave to get her water from Rose's fountain in case Steven wakes. Sapphire becomes less and less together everyday, and her disheveled appearance and pulled up hair doesn't help to comfort the others. Pearl's a mess, but she isn't as bad as Sapphire. The blue gem hasn't looked so bad since the war, which is what this is. A war against time and a war against Steven's turmoil.

Amethyst rises from Pearls side, disengaging her hand. She climbs the stairs and checks Stevens wounds. They're doing better, but Amethyst has to be extremely careful not to nudge the scabs. The first time they checked they'd opened a large cut, and it had taken twice as long for it to heal again.

Greg bites his lip, not watching as she bandages the wounds again. He still holds the child's hand, squeezing it gently, and Amethyst leaves again before she starts to cry.

"How is he?" Pearl asks, her voice nearly dead. Amethyst sighs and returns to her spot beside the taller gem, leaning into her.

"No change." She mutters, sniffling. Sapphire stands and leaves the room and a moment later they hear a loud cry from Ruby. It's been like this for 72 hours. Amethyst grits her teeth. "We need to do something."

Sapphire dashes from the back room, her eye wide and scared. "I need help." Pearl and Amethyst quickly stand, running to the back room Ruby's been in. The red gem lies on a bed of cushions and blankets, curled in a ball, her body glitching in and out of existence every few seconds. Her left hand, a shattered gem set in its palm, sits stretched out as far from her body as she can get it, as if its presence pains her, which it technically does.

"We need to do something, she's near corruption." Sapphire sobs, rubbing a hand harshly over her eye. Amethyst squeezes her hand sympathetically and looks to Pearl.

"Can we risk it?" Pearl whispers. Sapphire shakes her head.

"I don't know. I can't focus." she bites her lip and lets the tears roll down her face. "It's the only way to save Ruby, but if Steven..."

"Sapphi-ire..." a hoarse voice grunts, and the blue gem is instantly at her lovers side, gripping her uninjured hand desperately.

"Ruby, Ruby what is it." she begs. Ruby grits her teeth in pain.

"D-do-n't. St-steven is m-more impor... tant." she manages, panting. Sapphire's tears fall faster, and she shakes with sobs.

"If you die, I'll be alone..." Sapphire whispers, and Ruby turns her head towards her with great effort.

"I'll always be with you." she says, and kisses the blue gem deep. They pull apart and Ruby cries out, her gem glowing bright, the cracks splitting it in all directions. Rough crystals glitch onto her arms and shoulders and Sapphire scrambles back.

"RUBY!" she screams. The red gems body glows brighter until the whole room is full of blinding light. Pearl grabs Sapphire, pulling her from the room. Amethyst backs out with them, panic and fear in her eyes.

"What's going on?" Greg asks, rising. Sapphire collapses when Pearl lets go, unable to move or speak. Amethyst looks around, scared.

"Ruby, she–" Pearl begins, and a loud crash comes from the back room. It becomes very hot in the house, and the three able individuals look at each other in distress. A small, dark red form crawls from the back room, smoke rising with each step. Its hands are clawed with blood red crystal, shoulders, back, feet spiked as well. It growls, its black eyes inset deep in a face with razor teeth that looks nothing like Ruby.

The creature, not much larger than Ruby was, spots the frozen blue gem. Its form glitches, some crystals shrinking, and it takes a step back. Pearl summons her spear and steps forward.

"Ruby, can you hear me? We want to help you." she manages, tears spilling down her cheeks. The red gem looks confused, hurt. Lost. It looks at Pearl, then at Amethyst, them Greg and Steven. It whimpers, then collapses to the floor, covering its head with its hands.

Sapphire looks up then, her face a deadpan. She gets to her feet, hands shaking, and slowly approaches the creature, resting a cold hand on its head. Its spikes raise, but then lower, and Sapphire sits back against it, tears flowing freely.


	6. Chapter 6

Steven sits up, gasping for breath, hearing a loud ringing in his ears. He looks around frantically, scared. At his side sits his father, Pearl, and Amethyst, who all shout things Steven can't hear. He see's two people curled up at the base of the stairs, a red dragon-like creature and Sapphire, who looks up when he wakes, her face tired but relived.

"Steven," he hears and turns towards Amethyst, who looks worried and just as tired. "How are you doing?"

He goes to reply but then winces, looking down at his heavily bandaged arms. Everything comes flooding back then. The failed mission, the weeks of depression and guilt, the plan. Garnets face, Amethyst's reaction, his failed attempt. His face stills, falls, his eyes going dead.

"Steven?" Pearl asks, going to touch his shoulder. He pulls out of reach violently, realizes what he did, then sobs, letting his head fall into his hands.

"Why couldn't you let me... do this for you..." he sobs, voice hoarse. He lifts his head angry, "Why couldn't you let me die!"

Greg's eyes go wide and he turns away, Amethyst turning to rest a hand on his shoulder. Steven cries more at this, and Pearl suddenly hugs him. He struggles to get free but can't and eventually goes still in the embrace.

"Be-because," she says, and he realizes she's crying. "We love you, Steven."

"Why would you love someone like me. I took everything from you!" he says, hot tears falling from his eyes. "I took mom, I fail every mission, I can't even use my powers! I'm useless to you, why are you keeping me around?!"

"We care about you! That's why!" Greg shouts, and it becomes silent. Stevens eyes lock with his dads and he sees everything there. The pain, the fear, and love, and he breaks from Pearl and hug his father who gently rubs his back. Amethyst looks to Sapphire and the blue gem turns back to Ruby, giving no confirmation. Pearl hugs the purple gem then, and Amethyst holds on as long as she can.


	7. Chapter 7

"Who's this?" Steven asks, gently petting the red gems head, who allows it with a puff of smoke. It had been a few hours since Steven had woken. Things had slowed down and Greg had gone out to get dinner. Sapphire bites her lip and kneels down beside him.

"This is..." she meets the creatures eyes. "Ruby. This is Ruby."

Steven looks between the two. "What happened while I was out?" his tone is serious and sad and Sapphire takes a deep breath.

"There was an accident. Ruby got badly cracked and we couldn't fix her in time." she lied partially, cursing herself for not preparing better. Steven bought it as far as she could tell.

"I'm sorry..." he removed his hand slowly. "If I hadn't done... I could have prevented this..."

"No, Steven." Sapphire squeezed his shoulder. "Nothing could have been done. We're very lucky Ruby is so strong. She's still in control."

Steven nods. "Can I try to help at least?" he asks. Sapphire nods, scooting back. Steven bends down. "Can I see your gem?" he asks, and Ruby presents it.

The stone is cracked and dull, a dull red substance filling the missing parts between the gem bits. He winces, holding the clawed hand delicately. He pokes the stone tentatively and when he receives no reaction he licks his hand and places in down. He bites his lip and squeezes his eyes shut, but nothing happens.

"I'm sorry..." he says, blinking back tears. Ruby nudges his hand with her forehead, and Sapphire smiles.

"It's not your fault Steven." she says.

"If Ruby is hurt, can Garnet still come back?" he asks, and Ruby lowers her head.

"It would be very dangerous." Sapphire says, her voice not betraying her sadness. Steven nods, tears finally falling. Greg comes back with pizza for him, but it doesn't do much to cheer the boy up. Pearl and Amethyst, who have been inseparable lately sit together, making jokes and laughing. Sapphire smiles sadly, and falls asleep next to Ruby like she has done for thousands of years as if nothing has changed.


	8. Chapter 8

There's a loud crash outside on the beach, waking Steven from his slumber. It's late at night, and his dad is asleep at the side of the bed, which makes Steven feel safe but a bit sad. It's his fault his dad has to stay here, and he looks down at his scabbed arms guiltily. An explosion comes then, and it gently shakes the house, causing Steven to scramble out to the deck.

A large snake-like creature looms above the four gems on the beach, its dark green stone gleaming in the moonlight on its head. Pearl and Sapphire lunge at it and are sent flying. Pearls spear hits and the snake screeches, diving at her. Ruby jumps at it, knocking its head away. Amethyst's whip is holding its back length still but she's struggling.

Steven dashes around the fight and comes up behind the purple gem, grasping the whip and pulling with her.

"Steven! What are you doing here?" she asks, looking back at him frantically. He smiles.

"I want to help!" he says, and she watches the fight anxiously.

Sapphire lands a powerful hit on the snakes chest, and it hisses. She lands lightly and steps back as the snake prepares to strike. Steven and Amethyst see its gem glow sickly and shout as it attacks lightning fast on an unprepared Sapphire. She notices too late, and the snake connects. But instead of a blue gem poofing a red gem does, falling to the ground. Sapphire quickly picks up the stone and rushes out of the snakes reach, tears in her eye. Pearl leaps up and delivers a hard kick to the monsters' jaw and it retreats a few feet. Steven lets go and runs to Sapphire's side.

"Let me see her gem." Steven says, and Sapphire hands Ruby over worriedly. Steven picks at the muddy red bits, easily pulling them out of the cracks, then licks his hand and tries to fix the stone. A bright glow comes from the stone, and when it's done a mostly-reformed gem sits in his hands. Sapphire is speechless. "Are there more pieces?" he asks, and she nods. "We can fix the rest later, but–" the gem glows again, a white form taking shape and solidifying into a more Ruby-like person.

She stands, flexing her arms and smiling, mostly back to normal save for the cracks running across her skin and the few stray crystals tearing through her back and shoulders. She looks up to Sapphire, her eyes wide, and they embrace.

Steven smiles and hears the loud screech of the snake, turning just in time to see Pearl get thrown into the cliff side. Greg is out on the balcony, watching the battle with fear, and Steven clenches his fist. Behind him is a flash and he watches in awe as a strange version of Garnet stands above him. Her shoulders and arms are spiked with red crystal, gauntlets encrusted as well. Her visor is cracked and her dark skin is riddled with fissures as well. Her teeth are gritted with determination and pain, and she jumps into battle, Steven running after.

Pearl gets up, but is thrown again, this time her form retreating. Steven rushes over to help but then hears Amethyst's call for help. He joins the purple gem instead, pulling back on the whip, grunting with the effort. His bandages blossom with blood and he feels the pain of his skin tearing, but it isn't terrible. He watches as Garnet slams the snake into the beach, and the whip snaps, sending the two flying backwards.

A large cloud of dust engulfs the beach and Steven coughs, staggering into it. "Pearl!" he shouts, knowing he won't get an answer. The ground moves under him and he falls, gazing up into the haze to see the large corrupted gem over him. His eyes widen as it goes to strike, and his shield appears to block it. The snake tries again with no luck and slithers away. Steven lets out a breath and coughs, standing again.

"Agh!" he hears Amethyst from a distance and runs toward her voice, finding her battling the creature near the water. Steven rushes in and throws the shield at the serpent, hitting it square in the gem. It screeches and he spreads his arms wide over Amethyst.

"You'll have to go through me first!" Steven shouts, and the snake pauses. Garnet slides into the area with a shout, but he doesn't move. The snake narrows its eyes and grins, then plows through him hard. The boy screams and lands out of sight and the snake poofs, having gone through his shield. It's dead quiet.


	9. Chapter 9

Pearl and Stevens gems sit on separate pillows in the living room, three people waiting again in silence. The snake had been retrieved and bubbled, and they all now anxiously awaited the two's return. Garnet was silent, her mouth occasionally twitching in pain as the crystals on her back grew towards her neck. Amethyst had her head on the table by Pearl, her hand gently petting the stone. Greg was closest to Steven, but didn't really know how to react to all of this.

The pink stone glowed, and everyone stared as a tall pink body with long hair took shape. They held their breath as it changed, shrinking into a more Steven-like shape, then solidified. He wore his normal shirt and jeans, feet bare and hair puffed up; except now his arms were healed, and he smiled as he opened his eyes.

"Hey guys!" he exclaimed, and was tackled by them all in a hug. He laughed and returned it gratefully, glad to be back.

"I'm so glad you're okay!" Greg said, wiping tears from his eyes. "We were so worried about you."

Garnet and Amethyst nodded, wiping away their own tears. Steven beamed.

"I feel great, guys!" he said sitting on the floor. He noticed Pearl and became a bit sad, but still smiled. "How long have I been gone?"  
"Not long." Garnet said. "About an hour." he looked up at her and gasped.

"Oh! Ruby, or Garnet, your gem." he said, and she calmly presented her left hand, a few shards along with it. Steven pieced them together and kissed it, beaming as the glow faded to reveal the square-faceted gem was fixed. Garnet smile, kissing his forehead, her body fully healed.

"Thank you, Steven." she said, and he hugged her happily.

After a while Pearl came back and the way Amethyst held her spoke of the new relationship formed between the two. Steven was happy for the first time in a while, finding his smile was real and the joy inside his chest wasn't from the pain of a blade. Years later he would look back on this time and know it was over then, though he still had a lot of recovery left to do. It was at this moment that Steven truly knew he was loved, and that his life was valued. All that was left was for him to feel that way about himself too, and while it was hard, he had the best team on his side to help him through it.


End file.
